Kia Motors Q4 OP surges 54.6% on year on brisk SUV sales, weak won

Kia Motors Corp., like its bigger affiliate Hyundai Motor Co., posted better-than-expected results in the fourth quarter, fueled by strong sport utility vehicle sales with higher price tags and a weak local currency.

South Korea’s second-largest automaker in its earnings guidance Wednesday reported an operating profit of 590.5 billion ($506 million) for the final quarter ended December, up 54.6 percent from a year earlier and 102.6 percent from the previous three months.

Sales totaled 16.1 trillion won, up 19.5 percent on year and 6.7 percent on quarter.

Net profit more than tripled on year to 346.4 billion won. Compared with the previous quarter, it was 6.3 percent higher.

Shares of Kia Motors closed Thursday up 1.88 percent at 43,400 won.

For the entire 2019, operating profit surged 73.6 percent from a year ago to 2.01 trillion won. Revenue stood at 58.1 trillion won, up 7.3 percent. The results beat market estimates, which expected earnings of 2 trillion won on sales of 56.9 trillion won.

On Wednesday, shares of Hyundai Motor soared 8.55 percent following its equally strong fourth-quarter results. Operating profit more than tripled from the previous quarter and doubled from a year earlier to reach 1.2 trillion won.

Like its affiliate, Kia Motors largely credited brisk sales of its new SUV models and favorable currency rates for the stellar results.

Total unit sales actually fell 1.4 percent in 2019 to 2.77 million units. Domestically, it sold 2.2 percent fewer cars at 520,205 units. Overseas sales were also 1.3 percent lower at 2.25 million. But its overall balance sheet improved thanks to a more robust product mix, led by a pricier SUV lineup. It also cut costs by reducing cash incentives.

Kia Telluride, its new SUV marketed specifically for North America, sold more than 58,000 units in the United States since its launch in February 2019. The model swept top awards in the country, grabbing the 2020 SUV of the Year by MotorTrend and the 2020 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year by the North American Car of the Year jury.

The new Seltos crossover delivered strong sales at home and in India.

The company was also helped by a weak won, which made Korean autos more price-competitive in overseas markets. The dollar rose 6 percent to average 1,166 won in 2019 from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.

Kia Motors Telluride. [Kia Motors Corp.]

Kia Motors aims to sell 2.96 million units this year – 520,000 at home and 2.44 million internationally – betting high on the all-new Sorento and K5 sedan set to hit the U.S. market this year. To meet the rising demand for Telluride, it plans to ramp up production at its U.S. plant in Georgia from an annual 80,000 units to 100,000 units.

In a separate filing, the company on Wednesday announced a yearly cash dividend of 1,150 won apiece, 250 won more than last year.

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